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Talk:History of Coronation Street
The golden era I'm in two minds about whether this section title is biased, some people might dislike it but on the other hand it could also refer to the high viewing figures. How were the ratings in the late 1970s? All I know is that they were an improvement on ratings circa 1973. David 14:42, 6 January 2009 (UTC) :Good question. I'm afraid I don't have the ratings for that period yet (but I have discovered a source for them - back issues of "Stage and Television today"). Also, in going through back issues of "Television Mail" for the 1960's, it's noticable how high the ratings were for 1962-1964 compared to the later sixties so does that make the former period another "Golden Age"? I think until we have a clearer idea of the true ratings situation for the programme over the years, it's best not to rely on established myths. My suggestion for the sub-title is "The Podmore Era" unless that clashes in some way with what you've done before or plan to do in the future. BTW, comparing ratings is going to be difficult as ITV's use of TAM (Total Audience Measurement) from 1960 to c.1973 was in millions of homes whereas later ratings from BARB and the like have been in millions of viewers watching. All very confusing. I think we'll need an article at a later date which explains these differences. Great article on the history though - I always enjoy reading your additions to it.--Jtomlin1uk 14:57, 6 January 2009 (UTC) Thanks. Interesting comment about comparing ratings, it will make the article harder to write but at least I have a clearer idea of what can and can't be done. I was surprised how easy it was to write the article so far - some sections practically write themselves. The hardest part is trying to be unbiased when it comes to producers like Tim Aspinall and Susi Hush. Your comment about the high ratings in 1962-64 makes the changes made by Tim Aspinall make even less sense than they did before! David 15:13, 6 January 2009 (UTC) :The latter thought occured to me as well. As a matter of interest, the highest ratings per millions of homes watching for each year of the 60's from 1961 to 1967 (I don't have the last few weeks of the latter so far but I have little doubt that the Elsie Tanner wedding episode won't be beaten) are: *1961 - 7,491,000 *1962 - 8,868,000 *1963 - 9,170,000 *1964 - 9,710,000 *1965 - 9,660,000 (which was in January. There were several episodes above 9m in late 1965 but the BBC scheduled Steptoe several times opposite the Monday Corrie later in the year and really dented the ratings) *1966 - 9,050,000 *1967 - 9,450,000 (but this is one of only two episodes which break the 9.0m barrier up to December 1967) The other thing these ratings don't show but which I will upload soon is the incredible number of times that Corrie has both the 1st and 2nd place in the ratings in 1961-4 whereas from late 1965 the Monday episode rarely makes the grade. In a lot of weeks Pardon the Expression got better ratings than the Monday Corrie episode and, in one week, got better ratings that the two episodes shown that week! I was also amazed to see that all six episodes of Turn out the Lights got better ratings than the Monday episode of Corrie in the first six weeks of 1967!!--Jtomlin1uk 16:05, 6 January 2009 (UTC) Pilot episodes Does anyone know anything about the pilot episodes? I know nothing. David 10:52, 18 July 2009 (UTC) :Me neither I'm afraid sorry. Was that the Manuel/Andrew Sachs coming out in you there David? --Karen2310 11:00, 18 July 2009 (UTC) ::Is that a Fawlty Towers reference? I've never seen that show. David 11:13, 18 July 2009 (UTC) ::: Yes, sorry, it's a famous quote of the character Manuel (played by Andrew Sachs)... "I come from Barcelona, I know nothing!" - in a stereotypical Spanish accent. --Karen2310 11:16, 18 July 2009 (UTC) ::::Thanks for that. I'll resume the 1980s section then. David 11:21, 18 July 2009 (UTC) I know a little bit and was actually collecting together what I know only last week for a future article: This is the cast info I know of so far... Episode One Dry Run Regular cast *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Dennis Tanner - ? *Linda Cheveski – Eileen Mayers? *Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton? *Ida Barlow – Ruth Holden *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Ena Sharples - ? *Annie Walker - Doris Speed Guest cast *Harry Bailey – Peter Adamson Episode Three Dry Run Regular Cast *Christine Hardman - Christine Hargreaves *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Dennis Tanner - ? *Linda Cheveski – Eileen Mayers? *Ivan Cheveski - ? *Esther Hayes - ? *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Ena Sharples - Nan Marriott-Watson *Mr. Swindley - *Martha Longhurst - Doris Hare *Minnie Caldwell – Alison Bayley Guest Cast *May Hardman - ? Characters definately not in the pilots were Albert Tatlock and David Barlow as Tony Warren was only asked to include them after the pilots had been approved. I don't know the date they were recorded or the dates that Harry Elton screened them round the Granada building but seeing as how the Granada board gave the go ahead to the programme on 20th August, it was prior to then.--Jtomlin1uk 12:30, 19 July 2009 (UTC) :Thanks a lot for this! David 14:30, 26 July 2009 (UTC) 1970s ratings In Daran Little's 40 Years of Coronation Street book, he notes the falling viewing figures in the early/mid 1970s. The section in this article currently reflects his observations, but having had a look at the actual viewing figures, I'm not seeing any evidence that there was any kind of ratings crisis, in fact there's a great deal of consistency from 1960 all the way to 1977 when the format for viewing figures changed. What's going on? David 22:51, November 21, 2009 (UTC) :The main thing which seems to have happened after 1971 is that the programme didn't hold the top positions on the chart as it regularly did both before and after 1979-ish. When I investigated the viewing figures I expected some sort of recovery after 1976 but aside from the period around Len and Rita's wedding that just doesn't happen. The programme is solidly popular again from 1980 until the cast problems of 1983/4 and then the start of Eastenders but the 70's overall show a slight drop in popularity in terms of chart positions and I think that factor has been talked up over the years.--Jtomlin1uk 14:36, November 23, 2009 (UTC) 1980s One point - John Temple didn't axe the Websters. When Peter Armitage was taken on for the role in 1984, Bill Podmore asked him if he would mind staying in the role for some five years (although he was given the standard one-year contract) as he had in firmly in mind as a Len Fairclough replacment. Armitage said that would suit him down to the ground although Podmore was warned that the actor had a proven wanderlust about him. This warning came true the next year when Armitage suddenly refused to extend his contract. Podmore's was angry about this and commented that although they lost Debbie as well they were able to "save" Kevin.--Jtomlin1uk 09:34, December 1, 2009 (UTC) :Thanks for that, I'll change it. It seems obvious now you've pointed it out that Bill was supposed to replace Len, he's even a builder. David 16:39, December 1, 2009 (UTC) Some 1990s factoids Does anyone know what the garage and factory premises were used for in the early 90s? I can find references to MVB Motors but I think that was a bit later on. David 13:49, December 10, 2009 (UTC) Also, did changing to three episodes a week have much effect on the pacing of the storylines? Or did the slow-burners start with Brian Park? David 13:19, December 11, 2009 (UTC) Dates By intrest, does anyone have access to recording and studio dates for the individual episodes. I have the dates for many from the 1980's and 1990's but if anyone has access to the recording dates from pre-1981 it would of intrest to include them in the episode profiles. Mattfrye1 21:05, February 23, 2010 (UTC) Houses? How many residents own their houses and how many are renting? It seems in the early days, some man named Wormold owned the houses and the residents paid him rent. However, by 1984 Albert Tatlock owned No. 1 because he sold it too Ken. Len also owned No. 9 because Ken sold it to him in 1968, so by then Wormold must have not owned it. Also I remember Wormold sold No. 13 to Stan Ogden onscreen in 1964. Can anyone provide anymore light on this? Who had their own houses in the early days and which ones did Wormold own? 12:08, March 22, 2010 (UTC) Deletion Would anyone object to me deleting this page? The topics it covers are better placed in dedicated articles (and most already is). The article as it stands cherry picks rather than presents a comprehensive history of the street. David (talk) 20:59, May 18, 2014 (UTC) :I agree that a lot of the data is better covered in dedicated articles but there is some info on here which is of interest (early reviews in the press for instance) which isn't on other pages and it's difficult to think where they could go, aside from the year guides?--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 08:52, May 19, 2014 (UTC) ::I was thinking of moving the introductions of the year guides into their own sections and expanding, as it would make those pages a little less list/table oriented. David (talk) 09:27, May 19, 2014 (UTC) :::Okay, can we start building up the year guides before we delete this page? Also, there are some good images on this page - do you see these now appearing in the year guides?--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 09:54, May 19, 2014 (UTC) ::::Yes to both questions. David (talk) 11:47, May 19, 2014 (UTC) Don't waste your time adding to this page guys, it's getting deleted once the info is on all the year guides. David (talk) 20:07, March 15, 2015 (UTC)